Bittersweet Warmth
by Sephielya J. Maxwell
Summary: A more quiet instance between Russia and Lithuania.


Lithuania shivered, hands pulling his coat tighter about his chest. Even wearing his heaviest coat, a coarse, dark green and shapeless mass, the wind chilled him to the bone. He supposed he was just not used to this weather, even though it had been years already. Russian winters were so much colder than at home.

Everywhere here was white, a white so true that every shadow was blue. The snow already nearly reached his knees, and it had began to soak through his pants. He shouldn't even be out here right now, but he couldn't very well leave Latvia alone. It was his own fault for getting his younger brother so excited over the cookies that they were making together. In hind sight, he should have gathered the needed fir cones much earlier, before the mid-day snow had fallen.

Russia had left the house some time that morning, and with him went the weight of stress that had been building for days on end. The tall man had been dealing with some sort of trouble, though he was unwilling to speak about it to anyone. With a kind of dual guilt, Lithuania admitted to himself that he might have taken advantage of it just as Russia feared. At the same time, it killed something in him to see Russia's eyes rimmed red with vodka and unshed tears, his lips full and flushed from being bitten again and again, and hands raw from twisting his scarf in his already winter-dry hands.

A white cloud spread out from his shivering lips, and he felt his teeth chattering. He'd lost sight of Latvia a few moments ago, the younger blond going on ahead into the woods not far from the house. Everything was silent, so silent that he almost believed that if he called out for Latvia that no voice would pass his lips. There was a small break in the clouds above, letting the sun shine down in small beams that scattered the wasteland of snow. It was a gentle, subtle warmth. Closing his eyes, he stamped his feet to shake off some newly fallen snow, as well as keep the circulation going. If he was back home right now, he would be warm and cozy by the fire. He'd have a nice big pot of borscht on the stove, and he'd be sipping some of his nice mint and honey tea.

The brunette could almost hear Poland's slightly nasal voice complaining. The fire was too big, and he wasn't going to be the one to cut more firewood. He was starving, and this tea was too lukewarm for his taste. It was always something with Poland. Lithuania could have lived off of bread and water, as long as there was a roof over his head. Still, Liet would smile and nod at the blond, and fix things however he could. The holidays were coming after all, and there was no use getting angry over trivial things such as Poland's many whims.

_Kūčios_... Something once so dear to him. It was similar to Estonia and Latvia's celebrations, and so they usually spent it together. Poland would show up sooner or later, and he would sarcastically hand Lithuania the apple to divide among them—starting with the blond of course. While they bickered over this or that, Estonia and Latvia would give up and start eating. Inevitably Poland would have a bit too much to drink, and Lithuania would be stuck taking care of him again...

A cold gust of wind whipped the hood right off of his head, and Lithuania looked down as snow pelted his already cold face. His nose had begun to burn, and his ears were stinging in the wind. He fumbled with the hood, his gloved fingers too thick to get a proper hold on it. Just as he almost had it, the wind picked up again, and he gave an involuntary yelp as it was pulled from his hands again. Tears welled up in his eyes, he didn't know how long they'd been there, but he felt them freezing already. He hadn't felt the urge to cry in a very long time, and it was suddenly strong. He knew that he shouldn't, but there was a sudden flush to his cheeks as more of them welled up behind his once again closed eyes. Shivering so badly that his jaw chattered like a skeleton, and with tears turning to frost on his eyelashes, he couldn't be any more miserable.

And all at once, warmth descended on him. Like the feeling of sliding into a hot bath, warmth blossomed from his back and covered his arms. There was something soft, and _warm _against his neck, and he found that he couldn't move his arms. Opening his eyes slowly, his face flushed again. "I...Ivan!" He nearly croaked, as if even his voice had been frozen. The blond smiled cheerfully at him, violet eyes nearly closed as he wrapped his arms tighter around the smaller brunette. Russia had opened his own coat it seemed, and now Lithuania was wrapped up inside of it and the Russian's arms. With only his own coat to separate him from the taller man, he felt Russia's chest rumble as he chuckled.

"Did I surprise you~?" He asked softly. Instead of silence, Lithuania began to hear his heart beating in his ears. Unable to find words, the brunette nodded slowly. Russia chuckled again. "What are you doing out here?" He asked, burying his face into Liet's warm neck. The smaller man gave a slight shudder—while the rest of him was warm, Russia's nose was cold. As were his cheeks and ears—where was his hat? He accepted the small favor of letting Russia cuddle his warm neck, as the taller man was already giving him so much more warmth everywhere else.

"Gathering... fir cones."

"Fir cones..." Russia repeated. His voice lifted a little. "For cookies."

"That's right. You said..." Green eyes closed. "You said you liked them, right..?"

"Toris... You were thinking of me?" Russia's violet eyes were wide. Lithuania used to think them cold, but that was before he discovered what color that cold really was—a blue that was deep and unforgiving. Not a violet that was simply allowed to frost over now and then.

"I-I mentioned them to Raivis, and he got all excited...A-ah, Ivan?" Liet gasped as he felt Russia's strong arms tightening around him. The blond hid his face again, fingers clutching at his coat where he held it together in front of the brunette.

"I'm just... so happy." Russia murmured, so that his breath was hot against the other's neck. "I was sad, you know... There was so much going on, and I couldn't do a thing... Because no matter what I do, they'll hate me..." He chuckled, but it was not the same laugh from earlier. "So, I did it..."

"A-ah..." Lithuania merely replied. Truthfully, he didn't want to know what 'it' was.

"I did it quickly, you know. I was afraid... afraid that you wouldn't be here when I got back... So I did it, and I left."

"Ivan..." Liet wiggled his arms until he could maneuver his hands up through the part in the coat. He placed his hands over Russia's.

"I used to play here in the woods, when I was little. After my sisters left, I was so alone... and it was always so _cold..._" His voice was dropping to a whisper again, and Lithuania closed his eyes as he suppressed a shudder at the tickle of breath on his neck, slipping down his collar. His feet were numb, but his head was hot. "But Toris, you're so _warm..._" Lips, soft and cold as ice pressed against his feverish neck.

"Ivan...!" Lithuania clutched the Russian's hands tighter. The blond's tongue was warm and wet as he slid along the muscle of the brunette's neck, all the way to just behind his ear. He placed a small kiss there, and Liet let a small sound below from deep within his throat.

"Yah—_ahh_!" Came a startled yelp from behind them. Holding Lithuania in place, Russia glanced over his shoulder to spot the newcomer. Latvia had dropped the armful of fir cones that he had gathered, and he was shaking fiercely, though his face was red-hot.

"Ohhh~, Raivis." Russia quipped. Lithuania heaved a heavy sigh, though it shuddered in his chest as it formed a great cloud in front of him. Russia released the brunette from his bear-like hug, though he slipped off his scarf. The cold didn't seem to bother him as his coat flowed open in the wind, and he dropped the long piece of clothing over Lithuania's shoulders. "Here, let me help you~!"

Liet turned around to see his poor brother shivering hardest that he'd ever seen—probably a mix of coldness and fear. He sighed, feeling his body begin to chill again. Russia bent to scoop up the cones in his gloved hands, and Lithuania moved to wrap the scarf around his neck. He stopped when he saw it—the blood. Had Russia had blood on him? But no, it was just the end on one side, as if it had fallen into a puddle of it and soaked some up...

"Oh Tor~is!" Eyes snapped back up to meet the violet ones that stared back at him. He noticed now that Russia's smile didn't reach those eyes... That gaze moved from Liet's green eyes to the end of the scarf that he held in his hand. "Are you coming inside? Otherwise, poor little Raivis might just freeze to death! It's terribly cold out here, and I don't think he'd last too long..." Poor Latvia indeed, the small blond looked as if he might pass out at any moment. Locking eyes with Russia again, Lithuania held his breath for an instant.

Oddly enough, his brother was giving him the exact same look as the giant man standing beside him. Lost, cold, worried, and... frightened? Russia held out his hand, holding the fir cones in the other arm. The wind was picking up, and the cold was creeping farther in. Tossing the end of the scarf over his shoulder, as if he had never seen the blood, he took Russia's hand firmly with his own.

"Let's go home." Russia said, his voice a thin sheet of ice.

"Ah." Lithuania merely agreed, giving a nod as he was pulled from the snow back he'd been standing in. Feet numb with cold he nearly toppled over, but he was caught by the blond's arm. He looked up to apologize, but Russia was smiling. This time, violet eyes were wet, and the smile definitely reached them. Liet flushed, standing on his own two feet. Taking hold of Latvia's hand with his free one, the three of them headed for the cold and over-large house. Together they would warm a room or two, making new memories to rest alongside the old.


End file.
